Seeing Things
by Kitty Smith
Summary: Bella's always seen things that aren't there. So has their newest prisoner- what will happen when these two discover one another's unique "talent?"  BellaxLuna BLLL LLBL LunaxBellatrix Luna/Bellatrix Lestrange Femslash NO lemons, but YES one lime oneshot


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any products, merchandise, etc. assosciated with it.**

**I apologize now for the OOC-ness since I know it's reared its ugly head early on in the story. :)**

**Warnings: implied murder, bloody fun :) (very mild), and femSlash**

**Pairing: Bella Luna! I wrote this for the Harry Potter Slash Club contest on hexrpg . com :D**

_It hadn't really been meant to end up like this… _Luna realized with a half smile, _But I kind of like it better this way. _She certainly hadn't thought she'd end up _here_ that one evening it had all started.

(o0o0o0o0o0o)

Luna slammed her fists against the door as it slammed shut in her face. She wasn't usually this volatile, but then again, she wasn't in her _usual _surroundings. Sliding down the wood, she leaned her forehead against the door and tried desperately to believe Harry or Ginny was coming to save her. However, every time she caught sight of her environment again fresh tears left dirty trails down her cheeks.

Across the hall from her, a grime-streaked man dressed in rags reached through the bars towards someone only he could see. He was blubbering and begging for the person not to leave him again, to come and save him, and Luna winced at the idea of ending up like him. Lost. Alone. Abandoned. …Insane. A humdinger floated aimlessly on the air currents in her cell and she held her hand out for it to land on, but it shot away from her as if she were Sightless like anyone else. Luna froze and slowly pulled her hand back, cradling it to her chest. _Am I going to lose _this_ with my freedom as well?_

Footsteps sounded down the hallway with the double clack of high-heeled shoes on stone floors. The noise echoed throughout her cell and Luna pasted a vapid smile on her face in preparation for whoever or whatever it was. Although, she couldn't have prepared enough given an hour's warning. A beautiful woman walked into view, with her hair messily thrown into a sloppy up 'do. Stray black curls framed an all-too-thin chocolate face and flashing brown eyes with a hint of madness in them. Luna was broken from her reverie- _Aren't Death Eaters supposed to seem evil? _–when she noticed the veritable swarm of wrackspurts buzzing frantically around the woman. The Death Eater twitched each time one touched her skin, her eyes occasionally darting to various creatures in the swarm and gulping before steeling herself and looking away.

"You're just _covered_ in wrackspurts," Luna blurted in awe, before slapping her hands over her mouth as she realized her mind-to-mouth reflex hadn't quite been stifled.

The brunette turned with a snarl, glancing from Luna to the wrackspurts and pausing. Her snarl melted slightly into a carefully neutral expression, "What do you mean?"

Slightly taken aback by this turn of events, Luna explained hesitantly, "The little spirits that look like a mix of a butterfly and a firecrab that are all flying around you… I had the same problem when I was little." Well, there _was_ a decent reason the Sorting Hat had never even_ mentioned _Slytherin for her… Luna had always reveled in not holding anything back and being entirely honest with people, but it seemed the habit was a little harder to break than she'd thought.

The woman's eyes widened and her tone took on the edge of hysteria as she threw herself down to her knees in the middle of the corridor, "How did you get rid of them? Please, Silver Lady, if there is anyway to destroy them, if there's any way at all, please, I'll do anything!" At this point, the Death Eater had placed her forehead to the dirt floor and Luna strongly suspected she was crying.

Uncomfortable with the way the brown-eyed woman was addressing her, Luna backed up slightly, "I'm just Luna, don't call me that…"

"Please… My lady... The apparitions have been with me since childhood and since I first saw them I have never been without- they have always been there, between me and the world- even on my wedding night! I just- My Lord promised me he could return me to sanity and he would deliver me from these devils but he has not found a single way after years and years of my service to him! But you- you know their name! These," She tried out the name cautiously, despite her desperation to finish before Luna could interrupt, "_Wrackspurts_ have never given me one moment's peace! All my life they buzz and buzz and I've begun to hear voices in the buzzing telling me to be unfaithful to my family and to turn my back on the ways of the pure bloods! Please…" Luna watched in horror as she trailed off, muttering softly every so often "please" or "and buzz and buzz and buzz…"

Hesitantly, Luna snaked her arm through the bars and gingerly placed her hand on the woman's head. When her head shot up, filled with tears, Luna felt her heart pulse painfully in pity and didn't pull away when the woman pulled her hand down to her cheek. "Will you help me?" She whispered, searching Luna's eyes anxiously. Luna hesitated, _What would Harry do? What would Ginny do? _Seeing the complete submission and defeat on the older woman's face, she knew.

Luna nodded, tears starting up before she blinked them away, "I'll help." She always had been a sucker for sob stories- no matter what side they came from.

A wide, but slightly crooked grin lit up the Death Eater's face and in the back of her mind, Luna found herself pondering how that could make her seem any crazier. The woman's movement startled her and without a warning the brunette blasted the door to Luna's cell open, grabbing her by the hand. They ran down the halls and Luna had the time to reflect that the earthen corridors had seemed much darker and certainly much less tidy on the way down before they ran into another Death Eater guard.

"Lestr-" The masculine-sounding Death Eater began before Luna's impromptu saviour pointed her wand at him menacingly.

"Does widdwe McNair want to play wit' Auntie Bewwa?" She asked sweetly, pouting and batting her eyes.

"No," McNair growled, raising his hands slightly from his sides as if fighting the urge to hold them up in surrender, "What are you doing with one of the prisoners?"

"Too bad," She quipped light-heartedly, before her tone turned dark with glee, "_Crucio_!"

Frozen with shock, Luna watched detachedly as the man writhed with the red light and felt the first tang of fear since the woman had broken down in front of her. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea._ When the Death Eater suddenly screamed, Luna snapped back to reality.

"Stop it!" She screamed, grabbing onto the woman's arm and looking up into her face for any sign of humanity.

The brunette's eyes widened as she met Luna's gaze, "Silver- Luna?" Her eyes brightened, "You're going to get rid of the Wragspurds!" Luna didn't bother to correct her pronunciation. "We must go!" Luna's eyes didn't leave the collapsed and crying Death Eater until they turned a corner at the end of the hall and he was out of sight, but not out of mind. _What is _wrong _with her? It can't _just_ be the wrackspurts, can it? _She knew wrackspurts muddled up your mind and, thus, your conscience, but could they really be _that_ destructive? The wrackspurts were buzzing even now and Luna strained her ears to try and hear whatever it was the black-haired woman was hearing. _Just buzzing,_ she thought bitterly, _no murderous whispers or _anything._ Great, I'll shoo off the wrackspurts and be left with an insane murdering psychopath. What was I thinking?_ At some point during her internal ranting, they must have exited the dungeon and whatever building they were keeping her in, because behind her she heard angry shouts and before her was a forest that disappeared into itself the deeper she looked. _I don't even know her name!_

"Bellatrix Black, formerly Lestrange," Bellatrix grinned down at her manically. _And I'm thinking aloud now, aren't I._

"I really need to get a handle on that thought-to-mouth reflex," Luna muttered half-heartedly.

Bella laughed and threw her arms around her, prefacing the uncomfortable sensation of being pushed through a too-small tube that had always accompanied apparation. They appeared with a cracking sound in front of Grimmauld Place, where Bella blew a raspberry at the empty space between 11 and 13 Grimmauld Place before embracing Luna again and apparating to a shockingly suburban looking ranch-style house with a graying picket fence haphazardly falling around a semi-overgrown yard. Granted, it was a rather _rundown_ ranch house with a few shingles missing and the wooden steps up to the door sagging in the middle, however it was still far from anything that Luna had expected of the "maniacal villainous" she found herself saved by. Bella herded her inside and commented that gawking was considered ungainly in young ladies but she'd never much cared for that rule either.

Luna attempted to gain a sense of normalcy, "Erm, you said you were 'formerly' a Lestrange?"

"Oh that," Bella smiled toothily, "I'm a widow, isn't it sad?"

Some strange intuition tipped Luna off this had not been incidental. "Yes, very."

"Don't be, he was a bore-" Bellatrix blinked at Luna suddenly as if remembering who she was talking to and lowered herself to the floor, "I apologize for my impetuous behavior my lady!"

Luna gently pulled her foot from Bella's grasp when the disheveled woman attempted to kiss it. "I think I like you better that way…" Although it _was_ hard to decide between the merciless, yet charming killer and the frantically subservient fanatic… No, actually, it wasn't even a choice.

Bella raised her head from the floor calculatingly, "Are you… sure?"

"Yes, now, please get up," Luna managed to say politely, despite her nearly overwhelming desire to run screaming out the still open front door.

Between speculatively eyeing the door and wondering if Bellatrix would even let her leave alive, Bella jumped up and took her by surprise with a tight hug, spinning the frightened teen around.

She set the teen down after three spins and asked excitedly, "And you'll rid me of the demon wrackspurs?" Luna had no clue why she couldn't seem to remember the pronunciation of the creatures. It wasn't all that hard, after all.

"Of course." _And maybe whatever other creature seems to have taken root up in your brain…_ Luna was, at least, not surprised this time when Bella swept her up and took her around for a fourth time, but even less amused. _She's like a psychopathic, intelligent house elf participating in the Rotfang conspiracy._ When she was once again on the ground, Luna slapped her hand over her mouth as she realized she had forgotten perhaps the most important question of all. Turning to Bellatrix in terror, she shrieked, "Are you in with the Ministry on the Rotfang conspiracy?"

(o0o0o0o0o0o)

After about an hour of Bella's fascinated inquiries about the Rotfang conspiracy and its sleeper agents within Hogwarts' and even Voldemort's ranks, the discussion petered out and Luna was satisfied that Bella was not a sleeper agent nor an active participant of the conspiracy.

"My la- Luna?" Bellatrix ventured hesitantly when Luna yawned.

"Yeah?" Luna yawned again, mind more on the fact she'd be sleeping in a real bed tonight and the Splishturk making faces in the window than what they'd been talking about.

"What- Please, forgive me if I'm overstepping my bounds, but how will you ward off the Wragglespurks?" Bellatrix entreated, her hands wringing one another as she looked at Luna with wide eyes.

"When's the next… Full moon?" Luna paused for yet another yawn, "I'll need to gather some hemlock under the full moon, and- we'll have to find a way to get a red cap's cap…"

Bellatrix visibly deflated, "The full moon was three nights ago," she sulked.

"We can get the cap anytime we find a red cap…" Luna trailed off, leaning slightly to the side.

"Where do red caps live?" Bellatrix asked urgently, hoping to get the answer before she fell asleep.

"Wherever blood has been shed… Normally around ancient battlefields…" Luna admitted, "So we might have actually been able to find them in Voldemort's dungeon…"

"You dare speak his name?" Bellatrix hissed, eyes flashing, friendliness forgotten.

Luna was far too tired to deal with this. "What did he ever do for _you _to make you this _loyal_? He _promised_ to get rid of the wrackspurts, and couldn't even deliver after _years_…" Luna scowled, "And that's something _I_, a _fifteen year old_, could do…" She stood up, only stumbling slightly, "I'm going to go find… A bed!"

Bellatrix watched her go as her brow furrowed and she clenched her hands.

Luna had little difficulty in finding a bedroom in the small five room house, and in fact found a double bed squeezed into a room barely big enough for it on the second try. Luna wasn't disappointed in her guessing ability though; it was always good to know where the bathroom was. The walls were covered in a horrid, peeling floral wallpaper and the bed was an off-white color that Luna's father would have described as ecru. Luna described it as the color of baby spit up. Then again, beggars couldn't exactly be choosers, could they? Luna threw herself down on the side of the bed furthest from the door and tried to block out the buzzing from the next room.

Luna felt her snorkack's tongue rasp against the side of her throat and batted absently at the air, "Gerrof Sn'ffly…" The tongue paused.

"I have no idea what you're saying." Luna didn't react right away and let her brain process this. A mouth pressed right above her collarbone and sucked- and Luna scrabbled backwards until her back was up against the headboard.

Bellatrix gazed up at her in concern, eyebrows drawn together, "Did that not feel good? I've never done it to another woman before…"

Bella found herself hastily deposited outside of the room with a frazzled expression on her face and a thin blanket clasped between her hands as well as a fading red mark on her cheek. She settled herself down on the floor outside the closed door, "I should probably try something else…"

(o0o0o0o0o0o)

To say Luna was surprised when she fully woke up the next morning and found Bella sleeping (or rather tripped over Bella sleeping) outside her door was a bit of an understatement.

Pushing herself up to a sitting position Luna blinked a few times to fully clear her vision. "Bella?"

"Yes, mis- my la- Luna?" Bellatrix responded groggily without removing her head from under the raggedy blanket she'd been thrown when Luna threw her out.

"What in the world are you doing on the floor? Why didn't you go sleep in a different bed?" Before Bella could respond, Luna smacked her fist into her hand, "Of course, I don't know why I didn't think of it. There must be a Kaltrate infestation in the other beds. But why didn't you at least go sleep on the couch?"  
"I dun' know what a- Kaldrake?- infestation is, but there are no other beds and I'm fine on the floor…" She muttered, retreating further under the blanket.

Luna hesitated, "You can sleep on the bed if you don't molest me again."

Bella's eyes appeared over the edge of her blanket, "Molest?"

Luna blushed, "I'm flattered you think of me that way but I barely know you and you're a quite a bit older than me."

Bella sat up, letting the blanket pool in her lap, "But my Lord required that I visit his bedchamber at least every other night."

"I'm not your Lord, though," Luna pointed out stubbornly. She inspected the Death Eater and saw deep purple crescents beneath her eyes, "What did you _do_ all night?"

Bella perked up and took her hand, "I want to show you! I made a red cap trap!"

"Wait, how would you _do_ that without-" And they disapparated with a crack leaving behind a light blue blanket and two fuzzy slippers.

When Luna got over the disorienting affect apparation without warning had on her (and after Bellatrix- _cruelly,_ Luna thought- abandoned her), she backed out of the clearing, gaping wordlessly.

Bella smiled and spun around once, "I wasn't sure how much blood we needed, so I just got a enough to coat the ground." True to her word, forest floor of the clearing they'd apparated to was slick with red fluid. It was only now that Luna noticed how red Bella's cheeks and skin seemed, as if freshly scrubbed. A nearby low-growing plant dripped erratically.

"Is this all- human?" Luna squeaked embarrassingly on the last word, gripping her own sides painfully. _Oh god oh god oh god this is all my fault I shouldn't have told her about red caps being attracted to blood she's a maniac and I can't believe-_

Bellatrix frowned suddenly, the expression comical on her face surrounded by all the blood, "Was it supposed to be? I can go out and-"

The relief Luna felt could not be described in words, but she sank to her knees anyway and wished she knew what gods to thank. Then Bella's words caught up with her. "NO!" Bella flinched back and Luna hastily continued, "I mean, you did a great job, where- how did you get so many animals?"

Bella puffed up slightly, "I just transfigured a few logs temporarily into raw steaks and used engorgio on them. I also enhanced the smell." She gave a little half smile, "You'd think they were starving the way they came running." Bella walked over to where Luna was standing just outside of the blood-zone and pulled her into the clearing, "Come show me how to trap red caps."

Operating under the motto, "a concession a day keeps the madness at bay" Luna began to explain.

(o0o0o0o0o0o)

Returning back to the isolated house was a blessing and Luna ran straight into the bathroom to scrub herself raw. Bellatrix had set up a few snares and they were going to check on them the next day, so Luna wanted to be extra-sure to get any blood off from today. She didn't want to have _layers_ of blood on her skin. _Is this really better than being locked up in Voldemort's dungeon?_ She bemoaned internally, _At least there I had a chance of rescue. Now,_ she glanced out the window; Luna didn't really want to admit it but, _now _no one_ knows where I am except for _Bella.

Luna puttered around the bathroom, laughing at the antics of the various creatures floating around, before she finally admitted defeat and gave up her stalling. Dressing in the same clothes she had been wearing for the past few weeks- and those were beginning to smell more than a mite stinky- she sidled down the hall as quietly as she could.

"Luna!" Bella exclaimed, stepping out of one of the rooms Luna hadn't looked in yet and quickly shutting the door behind her. "Come to the kitchen, I'll make a late brunch! All the house elves think I'm a great cook!" _Oh that's a shining review of your culinary prowess,_ Luna thought with a grudging smile.

Four explosions later and Luna, in growing alarm, shooed Bella away from the muggle oven and took over. Gladdened by the lack of any protest, Luna mentally thanked her father for obsessing over muggle kitchen supplies to the point he changed out their entire kitchen for a muggle version when she was eight- the year after her mother died. As always, Luna sobered momentarily when she remembered, but straightened herself up and began trying to unclog the faucet.

Bella sat at the two-chair plastic table in the corner of the kitchen and watched. Intently. Particularly when Luna bent over to put something in the oven.

"You're molesting me with you eyes," Luna groused.

"No I'm not," Bella replied far too quickly.

Luna turned to look at the brown-eyed beauty who was- at the moment- attempting to look innocent. Putting her hands on her hips, Luna tried very hard not to burst into laughter at what Bella thought was "innocent." "Remember, you get to sleep on the bed if you don't molest me."

"I didn't touch you!" Bella protested, "And it wasn't molesting!"

"Bella, I _said_ you were molesting me with you _eyes_-"  
"Stop calling it molesting!"

"Are we really going to get into this argument?" Luna snapped, hands on her hips. Something about this woman got under her skin so easily. Bellatrix made her lose her cool, her façade, with little to no effort on her part and it just pissed Luna off more. "It's like you have foondarks for brains! I don't know _why_ I'm helping you!" Met with silence, Luna turned back to her chopping with more energy than was needed.

Suddenly two arms came into her field of vision and gently pried the knife from her hands before wrapping around her waist. "I'm sorry, milady- Luna." Bella pressed a kiss to the side of the tense girl's temple. "Please don't stop helping me."

"I didn't say I would," Luna answered tersely, though the anger was drained from her words, "You can go sit down now, I'll still help you."

She couldn't see the brunette's face, but she heard the smile in Bella's words, "I don't think I will; I like it here." Teeth scraped up the side of her neck and a tongue slickly followed. Luna imagined if she had a mirror at that moment the red would have spread directly from the spot all over her body in a matter of seconds. It sent a jolt through her and she shivered.

"Please… Sit down," Luna restated with little to no confidence behind the words.

Bella pulled the blonde flush against her body and hissed angrily, "Didn't you hear me? I like it here." _Bipolar much?_ Luna joked nervously to herself. Bella's voice was suddenly controlled, "I'm not… Hurting you, milady?" Luna anxiously shook her head once. "Then," Bella's breath was hot against her ear, "what's the harm?"

And so Luna nervously made brunch with an utterly bonkers psychopath resting her head on Luna's shoulder and commenting on how "interesting" food preparation was. When Bella slipped into bed next to her that night, she quieted Luna with a whispered, "You promised," and a pout.

Weeks passed that way- Bella would at one moment want nothing more than Luna's approval and the next- well, want nothing more than Luna. Luna was sure there was another infestation they needed to worry about with Bella, but Bella insisted it was only the "wrakinfurtles." When they first found a red cap, they had a 100% chance of getting its cap since Bella sent the killing curse at it on the spot.

And despite the mood swings and the constant milady's, the different creatures Luna saw fascinated Bella. Luna knew she believed her, since Bella saw some of them too. Never before had anyone truly believed Luna when she told them of a new creature she saw. Her father sometimes even had a look of condescending tolerance when she reported a sighting of some new thing floating in on the winds. Oh sure, he'd believe in marshmallows taking over the muggle world in league with Albus Dumbledore, but when she told him there was a nargle infestation he'd brush her off. Bella though, Bella _listened_, and better yet, she _believed_. She looked _up_ to Luna for the knowledge Luna had regarding the creatures that had plagued Bella from birth. Luna had to admit that when Bella wasn't out slaughtering and pillaging, she had a quirkiness that both attracted and comforted her. Of course, that very same quirkiness could lead to situations Luna _never wanted to speak of again_ but everyone has flaws right? Luna caught herself. _Everyone has _flaws_? She's a _murderer! And yet, she couldn't believe her own thoughts. It may have been because she had yet to catch the brunette in the act or because everyday with Bella, Luna found her a little less shocking and- _What exactly does that say about my mental health? Hmph._

The full moon finally rolled around and Bella excitedly "bounced" her awake. This is also known as the tactic some children use to get their parents up on Christmas morning. Yes, Luna was the lucky recipient of a full-on Bella tackle, with, of course, a grope or two while Luna couldn't escape. After half-heartedly breaking away from a semi-chaste kiss Luna pushed Bella off of her. Red-cheeked, agitated, and aroused, Luna locked herself in the bathroom for a good half an hour, ignoring various attempts by Bella to coax her out. "It's still morning, Bella, the full moon doesn't come out until night!" She shouted in irritation, sitting on the sink counter.

"But we should go and make _sure_ there's still hemlock in the areas we scouted, _right_?" Bella implored anxiously, her voice muffled through the thick wooden door between them.

_Probably can't _wait _to be able to leave me and go back to her _Lord_, _Luna thought with a pang of something she'd rather not think about. Even though she'd stopped talking about Voldemort in devotion or fanaticism that night Luna had pointed out his broken promise, Luna was sure that was just to humor her so she would get rid of the wrackspurts. Mostly sure. Kind of sure. Somewhat sure. Unsure. Whatever! It didn't matter anyway. "Yeah, let's just go and check."

It didn't take long to check every single freaking- Let's rephrase that. It took _all day _to check the different spots even _with _apparation because Bella _insisted_ on checking o make sure the _quantity hadn't decreased._ Luna knew this was about 'freedom' for her but it was just starting to wear on her nerves. Also, half the time, Bella just off and disappeared into the forest! Needless to say, by the time they came back, Luna was determinedly _not speaking_ to Bella. _Why can't I anger _her_ instead of this every-_ A horrible vision of an angry Bellatrix taking out her rage on nearby villagers filled her mind- _No I'm good. I'm not going to go off trying to irritate her any time soon._

"Alright, let's go back to the first one-" Bella started, a huge grin on her face, but Luna cut in.

"We are _not_ checking them _all over_ again!" Luna exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Just- let me take you there, my l-Luna. I _promise _it's the last one; after all, the moon is out so we can harvest the hemlock." Bella had slowly snaked an arm around Luna's waist as she spoke and by the time the "k" consonant of "hemlock" was out of her mouth she'd apparated back to the first section of the forest they'd found hemlock. It was, scarily enough, growing "wild" all around the house in the nearby forest. At first, Luna hadn't thought they could find hemlock anywhere close but she'd been proven wrong.

As Luna drew a breath to tell off Bella for apparating them so suddenly yet _again_, her mouth snapped shut. Although, it fell back open again in due time. Bella had captured live fairies in glass jars and hung them from different low growing tree branches and bushes. That the fairies either looked unconscious or scared out of their wits was overlooked for now.

"It's so pretty," Luna breathed, eyes reflecting the fairies' soft glow. The full moon overhead shone only enough to illuminate each other's faces and when Luna turned to see Bella grinning that lopsided manic grin of hers, she threw her arms around the brunette's neck. "Thank you. I'm sorry I blew up at you." She kissed Bella chastely on the lips and Bella's eyes widened in shock. Of course the Death Eater had to go and ruin the moment…

"That's _all_ I get?" She mockingly whined, "I went to _all_ this _trouble_-" Luna kissed her again and Bella wasted no time in pulling the small blonde against her. After a particularly sharp bite to Luna's neck, Luna returned the favor and Bella gasped, "I don't mind waiting another month to get the hemlock. You?" Luna shook her head breathlessly and Bella took the opportunity to slide her hand up the side of Luna's shirt, "Let's continue this elsewhere."

_It hadn't really been meant to end up like this… _Luna realized with a half smile, _But I kind of like it better this way. _With a crack they disappeared, leaving only the hemlock to enjoy the fairylight.


End file.
